Pages

Monday, April 30, 2012

My Curly Hair: Post 30 Day" No Poo" Experiment

I realized the other day that I have talked about having curly hair, but I have no pictures on this blog of my curly hair. So for the sake of the 30 day challenge I figured I should show what my hair looks like curly.

I am so completely happy with my curly hair now! The curls are bigger, more defined, and not as frizzy as before. I am still using a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of mousse to set the curls. I am currently looking for a more natural alternative for it though. So if you know of one, please share!

This color is much more accurate of my hair color! Dark brown with some reddish highlights (I do not color or highlight my hair)...and I don't have jaundice...I'm just super pale. ;-)

If you are doing the 30 day challenge remember...everyone's hair is different. It may take yours a bit longer to adjust and not make crazy, extra amounts of oil. I was extremely surprised it only took mine about 3 weeks. Don't get discouraged, hang in there. Tweak the recipe a bit to work for your hair.

Never tried going "poo free" before? Check out the 30 Day Challenge Beginning for information on the how and why...and give it a try! It just might be the best thing you ever did for you hair. If not...you haven't lost anything, simply go back to your shampooing ways...or even better, find another natural alternative. :-)

Hello Emily!I too have curly hair. Mine seems to be curlier than yours, which you can see in this photo on my blog: http://honeyfromflintyrocks.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/photo-a-day-challenge-day-7-favorite/

But I no longer even use the baking soda and vinegar routine for my hair. I did for a long time... but my hair was still dry. Seems curly hair is in desperate NEED of moisture!

In fact, now don't get grossed out on my here, but I don't use anything but a natural conditioner on my hair. I "scrub" it around with my fingers in my scalp and let it sit while I wash the rest of my bod with my homemade soap. Then I comb it all out and rinse. I do use a small amount of a mousse type product. Truly, your "hair" isn't the part that gets "dirty" but it is your scalp that NEEDS the cleaning... well unless you rolled in the dirt, or got paint in it from painting the hallway walls, or....

Saw your post in the Barn-hop link up and wanted to see what you were doing with your hair! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! I used to have super oily hair on the top...so I couldn't put any conditioner on it, just my ends. So I haven't tried that method yet. Your hair is gorgeous though! I love the curls!

I have curly hair too, which I get lots of compliments on, but it gets frizzy so easily and it drives me nuts. I've always wanted smooth, shiny hair.

I am going to have to check out this 'no poo' thing every one is talking about! Thanks for sharing.

BTW, I do use coconut oil on my hair also after getting out of the shower. I actually found a container of pure coconut oil in the hair products section at the Dollar Tree. A little goes a long way too.

I just looked at my jar of coconut oil from the Dollar Tree and it's got other things in it like petrolatum, Jojoba Seed Oil, Mineral Oil, fragrance and BHT so you may not be interested.

Also, I just got out of the shower and did not 'poo' my hair for Day 1 of 30! I'm letting it air dry but so far it is very soft and didn't have any more tangles in it than after I shampoo and condition it. That's a plus! Crossing my fingers that it's not oily!

Yah I does take a bit of tinkering to find just the right mix...but I was doing that when buying shampoo and conditioner any way. I don't think I ever used the same shampoo! I was never happy with it. I am so much happier now! Hope you find the mix that works perfectly for you! Thanks for stopping by Abbi!

I realize this post was a while back, but I myself am a week into the no-poo challenge and the biggest problem I have into so far is not using conditioner. I have very thick, wavy/curly hair and my old routine was a tiny bit of shampoo on my scalp only and then gobs of conditioner throughout the rest of my hair to detangle it and help the curls "clump" together. However, since starting the no-poo challenge I have SUCH a hard time detangling my hair in the shower. It is so knotty and I have to comb my fingers through it over and over in an attempt to detangle it. This ends up leaving my hair pretty stringy, destroys the natural set of my curls, and as a result my hair doesn't clump together into curls very well anymore. I'm sure part of it could be that my hair is still adjusting, but I also feel I may need something in addition to ACV/lemon juice to substitute as a conditioner. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks for this post! It's been very helpful to me as I start my own challenge :)

I think it sounds like your hair may need a good deep conditioning boost. You can try either adding a bit of coconut oil to your hair wash routine, using it as an additional conditioner. Just know that a little bit goes a long way, so start out conservative and experiment with how much and how often you need to use it. You can also try out a hair repair recipe that I posted about here http://beautifulsmhw.blogspot.com/2012/04/no-poo-30-day-challenge-update_13.htmlMy hair is very oily so this was a bit too much for me. But if your hair is feeling straw like this may help. You may also want to cut back on the amount of baking soda you are using. If I use too much baking soda my hair is left feeling straw like as well. Here is also another good recipe for homemade hair detangler that you can use after the shower http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/04/a-recipe-for-homemade-herbal-detangler-spray/

Good luck! Just keep experimenting to find what works perfect for your hair.

I also have thick curly hair. I add a few drops of tea tree oil to the ACV solution and that helps with moisture. Before I rinse out the ACV, I comb my hair with a large tooth comb. If I'm wearing my hair curly, I won't brush it again when I get out the shower. I've tried coconut oil but no matter how little I use, it always left my hair oily. I started using Carol's Daughter hair milk to better define the curls and I really like that. Depending on how active I am (running or yoga) I'll add CD's co-wash milk to my routine maybe once every other week. That will help with cleaning my hair but Carol's Daughter doesn't use sulfates, fragrance, etc... in their products so it's still much better than regular shampoos and conditioners. I've been no-poo since April 2012 and just started using the extra products about a month ago.

You might want to try this recipe for flax seed gel. I was quite impressed, but I have to tweak it. I have very curly, dry, course hair. Good luck!

Put the seeds in the water and then bring to a boil, when the seeds suspend in the water and the water gets a white foamy film, turn to med to med-low. Using a wire wisk, keep wisking until desired thickness. I've tried continuous boiling on high and wisking and it came out too thick. Total process takes anywhere from 6-10 minutes, watch closely. Then strain and add your additions (if you are using epsom salts add before boiling). Better to strain when a little thin, you can always put it back in the pot and boil to make thicker.

I'm a little late to the party, but I think I will be trying this. I have tried other natural alternatives around my house. I use vinegar instead of jet dry in the dishwasher. And baking soda with vinegar for cleaning. I was using bashing soda and water as a detergent for the dishwasher, but it didn't get the stuck on stuff off. All that to say I think I will be trying this starting Monday. (I don't have BS or ACV at the moment and want to start after I've gone to church.) Thank you for your detailed account of your experience! I'll try to come back and let you know how it goes.

Woot woot! you go girl, lookin' great! I did the challenge as well and I will never, ever, ever go back to using those shampoos with sulfate again. I feel like a completely brand new person, because of the confidence I have now to sport my fro : )